Mystic Art of Breathing

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Mystic Art of BreathingBy R alp h M. Lewis, F. R. C.

Leisure Hour Series

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A M O R C



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M a k e Y o u r O w n P r o p h e ci e sLearn how to see the future evolve

out of the present , logically and

intel l igent ly.

W h a t O c c u r s A f t e r D e a th ?Here is a mystical and scientific

t reatment of thi s subject that wi l lfascinate you.

Cosmic Consciousness

L e a r n t he na t u r e a nd w a y o f developing thi s power .

P sych i c P henom enaKnow the bas ic pr inciples under

lying the interes t ing f ie ld of psychicresearch.

Color— Its Myst ical Inf luenceHere i s explained how color affects

yo ur li fe .

S u p e rs i g ht , o r T h e T h i r d E y eInner or psychic percept ion.

S ER I ES “B*

W hat I s P sych i c P ower ?

A concise , informat ive explanat ion.

T h e A r t o f M e n t a l C r ea t in g

Ma ki ng your t hough t s w or k f o ryou.

Self -Heal ing

Direct ing the curat ive powers of

self.

Psychology of Myst ic ism

How to induce the myst ical s ta teof mind.

Myst i c Ar t o f Br ea t h i ng

How breathing can quicken theinner consciousness.

Myst e r y o f Num ber s

Numbers as keys to occul t forces .

S end Or de r and Rem i t t ance t o :

ROSICRUCIAN SUPPLY BUREAURosicrucian Park, San Jose, Cal i fornia

U . S . A .

G-87 550

C o p y r i g h t 1 9 5 0 b y

S u p r em e G r a n d L o d g e, A M O R C

P r i n te d i n U . S . A .

lTL\jstic (Jilt ofj fi 'teathinq

By R a l p h M . L e w i s , F . R . C.

The simple act of breathing suspends man between

two worlds. Breathing ushers in life. From life there

issues consciousness and, in humans, this results in a

conception of a physical wo rld. Fu rthe r consequences of

breathing in man are certain subjective states, such as the

consciousness of an intangible self and subtle psychic

inclinations. These latter, m an has associated wit h an

invisible and infinite domain, which he has designatedas the Divine or spiritual world.

Since breath is the primary cause of the phenomena

of life and the spiritual consciousness of man, it is not

strange that, for centuries, breath has been believed to

be the vehicle of Divine qualities. Those persons having

a wholly objective point of view might contend other

wise. Th ey might take the position that air is only the

spark which kindles the other properties of man’s being.

They could affirm that the so-called spiritual qualities ofman actually arise out of th e organism of m an’s being.

Air, they might say, is but the imputation that sets the

organic machinery in motion. It is this machinery, the



various somatic systems of physical man, which produces

the functions of mind, the ego, and the spiritual

consciousness.

The subjectivist, that is, the religionist and mystic,

counters this view by pointing out that the chemical

properties of air alone, such as oxygen and nitrogen,

cannot sustain the normal functioning of man. They hold

that an intelligence permeates the life force, which ac

counts for the involun tary functions of an organism. This

intelligence, in some way, has an affinity with the air we

breathe.

The attributing of Divine qualities to breath, identify

ing breath with soul, is partly due to the way in which

men think. All of the qualities or characteristics which

are related to the spiritual nature of man, the ego, con

science, and intuitio n, are wholly immaterial. Th ey have

no physical substance apart from the body. These powers

seem to be resident within the body; yet they assume no

visible form as do the hea rt and lungs. They manifest

only in the human organism which breathes. They ap

pear to cease whe n breath departs. Primitive reasoning,

still common to many modern men, tends to confer the

same natu re upon similar conditions or things. Sinceself and conscience appear to depend upon breath, it is

reasoned that the air we breathe must be, or must con

tain, as a shell, the spiritual essence.

The aborigines of West Australia used one word,

wang, to denote breath, spirit, and soul. Th e primitive

Greenlanders declare that there are two souls for man,

the shadow and the breath. Th e ancient Egyptians, fol

lowing the reign of the great monotheist, Pharaoh Amen-hotep IV, taught that breath bridged the gulf between

God and man. A ir was a tenuous and invisible bond with

the God beyond.

The Hebrew language likewise reveals this unity of

breath with the spirit or soul of man. Th e word nephesh

meant breath but eventually became neshamah which

meant spirit as well. Th e Old T estamen t discloses that

the infusion of breath meant to the ancients more than

the conferring of life upon man. It meant also the inclusion of soul within the body. In G enesis 11:7, we

find: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of

the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of

life; and man became a living soul."

It is to be noted in the above quotation that God is

not said to have infused man with soul but rather with

"th e breath of life." Thereu pon, man became "a living

soul." This distinction provides an oppo rtunity for in

teresting metaphysical abstraction. A re we to infer fromthis that soul accompanies the vital life force, the breath

of life, or that soul occurs as an effect of the life force

acting upon the body? In other words, is hum an breath



the cause of soul or is it the medium by which the soul

enters the body? If the la tter is correct—th at air en-

genders such attributes as we identify with soul—then

the ancient doctrine that the breath of life is a key to

man’s spiritual nature can be reconciled with the theoriesof mode m science. A f urth er consideration of this point

we have reserved until later.

S o u l , a S u b s t a n c e ?

The etymologies of the Greek words, psyche or soul

and pn eu ma or air, are related. In classical Greek phi'

losophy, soul and spiritual qualities are often made

wholly dependent upon breath. The idea was not that

breath caused life and that the soul later became residentwithin the body, but rather that the air which is breathed

was thought to be infused with the substance of soul.

The Stoic philosophy relates that “pneuma—breath or

spirit—is but p art of a great world soul.” Since mind

or the rational principle was of the W orld Soul, the in*

halation of breath brought to man this Divine intelligence

which manifested within him as reason or the higher

intellect.

It must be admitted that it is ordinarily extremely dif'ficult for the human mind to embrace the idea that a gross

corporeal substance, such as the body, can engender such

incorporeal qualities as those which are attributed to soul.

It seems more probable to most minds that soul is related

to a more subtle substance. A ir is invisible and, to the

minds of the ancients, it was likewise infinite. Conse '

quently, it paralleled those qualities conceived for the

Divine nature of man. It was plausible to them that airwas either a direct emanation of the Divine essence or

the ca rrier of it. Because of the importanc e of air to life

and because of the speculation on its relation to the

soul, the Greek philosophers also sought to understand

the mechanism of respiration. Plutarc h, in his essays,

quotes the theories of breathing advanced by Empedocles,

Asclepiades, and Herophilus. Th e latter’s theory shows

an amazing understanding of the physical process of

breathing, anticipating the explanations of modem

physiology.

The identification of breath with soul came to in'

fluence many religious and philosophical rituals as well as

social customs. In ancie nt Rome, the nearest kinsman

leaned over the deathbed to inhale the last breath of the

departing. Th e soul was believed to be issuing from

the mouth when the vital spark was leaving. Th e kins'

man might possibly inhale some of the immanent quali'

ties of the soul which would infuse his own being or,

at least, these qualities might be preserved within him.

The breath, as the vital life force and therefore per'

meated with soul essence, was likewise thought to possess

great therapeutic qualities. Am ong many peoples the



blowing of the breath upon infected areas of the body

or upon the sick was thought to be beneficial for the

afflicted. Since soul was thought to enter w ith breath

and to depart with it, then the blowing of the breath

upon others might impart the spiritual essence as well.W e even find this referred to in the N ew Testament

where Jesus is related to have breathed upon the disciples,

imparting to them the gift of the Holy Spirit.

It is in the Hermetic and esoteric doctrines of mysticism

and the religions of India in particular that importance

is attached to the natural act of breathing. Respiration

is developed into a mystic art or science by which the

spir itua l consciousness is said to be evolved. Breath ing

is held to be a mediator between the conscious, the mortal

world, and the unconscious, that is, the intelligence of thesoul lying dorma nt within most men. Breathing has been

likened by these Easterners to “the starting point of

meditation.” In writings attributed to the legendary

character, Hermes Trismegistus, such as the essay, “The

Sermon of Isis to Horus,” it is related that all things

return to their source. “Most Holy Nature hath set in

living creatures the clear sign of this return. For that

this breath we breathe from above out of the air, we

send up again, to take it in (once more).”

In Buddhist doctrines it is said that the rhythm of

breathing is but a part of the whole rhythm of the uni

verse. Th is rhythm exemplifies the cosmic motion of wax

ing, waning, expanding, contracting, absorbing, and ex

pelling, as witnessed in the other phenomena of nature.

Philo of Alexandria said: “The former, he (Moses)

called the Breath of God, because it is the most life-

giving thing (in the universe) and God is the cause of

life.”

Paracelsus, noted physician, Rosicrucian and alchemist,

in his essay on the elements, says that the other three,

air, fire and water, arise out of air —“air strengthens the

world and keeps it together as a dam does a marsh. . . .

Air, again, is like a skin in which is stored up a body,

the whole world, to wit.” In this idea Paracelsus—just

as the ancient thinker Ana ximenes did before him—prac

tically confers upon air the nature of being the primal

substance of all existence.

C o n t r o l l e d B r e a t h i n g

To the Hindus, however, recognition must be given

for regarding the regulation of respiration as a science

by which certain ascetic and spiritual ends are to be

attained. Th e yoga is a system of teachings which was

derived from the Sankhya philosophy. It has gradually

become so divorced from the Sankhya that only the more

diligent students will come to learn of its former origin.

The yoga doctrines were originally intended to bring the

subliminal mind of man into a closer affinity with the



forces and p owers of nature. Th e somatic functions, the

bodily or objective activities, are said to be maladroit and

thus interfere with our effecting an absolute unity with

nature . The bo dy and objective consciousness must, yoga

contends, be subordinated. Th e regulation of the breathis claimed to achieve this end. Subse quently, yoga be

came a method by which the individual, the inner self,

was integrated with the universal self of which the former

is an extension.

The method of controlled breathing is called pranayama.

The latter is a combination of two words: prana, in

breathing or inspiration, and a modification of the word

apana, which means exhalation. Th e yoga sutras, or

doctrines, relate that the breath is to be suspended as

long as possible. Breathing is to be “over as small anarea as possible.” This refers to shallow breathing. It

is also advocated that the number of respirations should

be gradually diminished. As the duration o f suspended

respiration becomes longer, the breathing becomes more

and more shallow.

Just why the suspended breathing? W hy should yoga

recommend it as the objective of all spiritual aspirants?

First, it is related that it is necessary to control the

breath because it disturbs attention, so necessary for pro

foun d meditation. W he n one first begins abstract thought,

the rhythmic motion of the chest does distract the con

centration, but as one becomes engrossed in meditation,

the dominant idea makes one unconscious of the respira

tory motion. In th e later yoga doctrines, it is asserted

that controlled breathing is necessary for a cleansing of

the impurities of both mind and body to achieve the ideal

state, namely, unity with the universal self.

The yoga doctrines further state that the regulation

of breathin g has a therapeutic effect on the bodily systems.

They contend that it results in increased beauty and

longevity, which condition, in turn, brings about poise,

grace, and personal power.

The ancient Hindus, it would appear, had an excellent

comprehension of both the physical and psychological

effects of breathing. It is eviden t th at they mad e a very

careful, or, what we would call, a scientific, study of

respiration. The y estimated the number of respirationsper minute, corresponding very closely with those given

by modem physiology. The y were also appare ntly aware

that there is a relation between the respiratory system

and the emotions. W ith control of the breath, reflex

actions would stimulate or depress the emotions. By in

ducing certain emotional states, the inner or psychic

consciousness could be quickene d. Subjective states could

be attained with greater ease.

R e s p i r a t i o n a n d t h e N e r v o u s S y s t e m s

W e have learned, through the researches of modem

science, that the respiratory center, which directs our



almost involuntary act of breathing, is located in the

medulla oblongata. Th e medulla oblongata is a spinal

bulb at the top of the spinal cord. It is an organ which

functions for the conduction of impulses between the

spinal cord and the brain. Experiments prove this centerto be automatic. It has an inhere nt rhythmic activity

similar to th at of the heart muscles. It is particularly

sensitive to reflex stimulation. Th e respirato ry center is

connected with the cranial and spinal nerves and path'

ways. A stim ulation of any of the sensory nerves of

the body, as a dash of cold water, unusual sights, sounds

or emotional states, affects the respiratory rate. Th at

which affects the sensory nerves alters the activities of

the respiratory center—it may increase or decrease our

breathing, as we know from experience.

Respiration is both active and passive. Inspiration or

inhalation is active. The muscles are expanded. Exhala

tion is passive. Th e muscles, being elastic, gradually re

tur n to normal witho ut effort. It is believed tha t after

exhalation the increased carbon dioxide in the blood

stream acts as a stimulus in the respira tory center. From

the respiratory center, then, nervous impulses pass via

the spinal cord and nerve fibres to the intercostal muscles

and the muscles of the diaphragm, causing inhalationagain.

Pulmonary diseases, which affect the rhythmic breath

ing, are known to stimulate or depress the emotions of

the affected person. Th e sympathetic nervous system is

affected, as well, by the breathin g. Th e blood is charged

by deep breathing. Th e energy is sympathetically trans

mitted from the spinal nervous system to the sympathetic

and, in turn, affects the psychic centers, those plexuseshaving to do with psychic functions, and thus the psychic,

or inner consciousness, is exhilarated.

W he n we are emotionally disturbed, as when suddenly

gripped by fear, if we breathe deeply and hold the breath,

it helps to suppress the emotional turbulence. The cells

of the blood and the glands are revitalized by this deep

breathing and the holding of the breath. Th roug h reflex

action, the respiratory center again stabilizes breathing

which aids in the control of the emotions. Holdin g of the

breath, so long as it does not cause discomfort, assists in

clearing the mind and stimulating the thought processes.

The breath, we repeat, must be held only as long as it

is comfortable to do so. Relaxation is facilitated by ex

halation. Th e breath m ust be exhaled as completely as

possible wit hou t experiencing stress. T he du ration , wi th

out inhalation, must be for as long as comfortable. If

tried three or four times, there is a noticeable relief in

tension.

From the Rosicrucian point of view, the air which webreathe, aside from its chemical properties, contains a

polarity, th at is, a quality of a dual cosmic essence. This

polarity of the cosmic essence is immaterial, in contrast



to its opposite, which arises out of the material elements

of which the body consists. This imm aterial element, or

polarity, is posit ive or more active than that arising out

of the food and wate r which we consume. It carries with

it the rhythmic order of the cosmic; by order of the

cosmic we mean the inherent harmony of the universe.

W e may even call this order, or harmony of the universe,

the soul, if we desire. Mo re appropriately , however,

we can say that, when we breathe, we are infused with

an intelligence, and a power, which actuates the physical

organism, our body, in such a way that, in a complex

being as is man, there are produced those states of

consciousness which we define as mortal and spiritual.

Thus the seed of the soul is in the air we breathe.



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Mystic Art of Breathing

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